I wanted to make this quick post for any other rabbit owners who have never gone through bonding and may be feeling discouraged. Granted, this situation was not as bad as some of the stories I've seen on here, but it was still stressful!
I rescued Harrison (brown bun) from Rabbit Rescue in 2020 when he was about six months old. He lived life as a single-bun with lots of attention and a nice setup and seemed very happy. In May 2025 I noticed Ruby (black and white dutch) while on a walk. I confirmed with nearby houses that she was dumbed and unwanted. It took me a few weeks, but in early Jun 2025 I managed to catch her. After getting her a checkup and treated for fleas I contacted my local RR chapters, but they were all full. I called around until I found a Humane society that promised to be a no kill shelter, but I just couldn't bring myself to take her because she was finally acting comfortable even in my suboptimal office setup and was just so incredibly sweet once I got her to trust me. I decided I didn't want to rehome her again since based on her wounds she had been in a bad situation before. So I got her spayed, waited 5 weeks, and then formally introduced them.
I set up a pen in the doorway between my office and the living room where Harrison was and they interacted through two walls with a gap for a few weeks and seemed mostly indifferent. Once I introduced them in neutral areas though things didn't go well. She was extremely territorial and he was very timid. She would growl, chase, and at one time pulled out a chunk of hair. I tried supervised penned dates in a room of the house neither could go in and ultimately very stressful open area date and it was alwasythe same. She would take his toys, get in his litter box, etc. but would aggressively chase him away if he got near her or her stuff.
I eventually moved her out of my office and set them up with side-by-side pens in the living room and would let each out independently at night which wasn't easy when working full time. I gradually began letting them out together at the end of these sessions with lots of treats and distractions. It took several months of gradual improvement, but she eventually stopped being so territorial and he stopped being afraid.
Fast forward to today (about 6 months later) and we no longer have to worry. They chase each other playfully, she grooms him constantly, they eat in each other litter boxes and pay in each other's beds. We still keep them in separate pens when it's not free roam time because she is a slow eater and he gets food defensive. The only close calls we've had is when he would go crazy for treats and try to take them from her so I don't know how I could feed them if they lived together full time (any advice on that would be appreciated).
Overall I'm so relieved and much happier now that they're friends. If you're discouraged from lack of progress please try and give it time. I had effectively given up on them tolerating each out, but little by little with repeated daily exposure they grew fond of each other!
by JAC151